We have studied the circular photogalvanic effect (CPGE) in Cu/Bi bilayers. When a circularly polarized light in the visible range is irradiated to the bilayer from an oblique incidence, we find a photocurrent that depends on the helicity of light. Such photocurrent appears in a direction perpendicular to the light plane of incidence but is absent in the parallel configuration. The helicity dependent photocurrent is significantly reduced for a Bi single layer film, and the effect is nearly absent for a Cu single layer film. Conventional interpretation of the CPGE suggests the existence of spin–momentum locked band(s) of Rashba type in the Cu/Bi bilayer. In contrast to previous reports on the CPGE studied in other systems, however, the light energy used here to excite the carriers is much larger than the bandgap of Bi. Moreover, the CPGE of the Cu/Bi bilayer is larger when the energy of the light is larger: the helicity dependent photocurrent excited with a blue light is nearly two times larger than that of a red light. We therefore consider that the CPGE of the Cu/Bi bilayer may have a different origin compared to conventional systems.
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Circular photogalvanic effect in Cu/Bi bilayers
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26 November 2018
Research Article|
November 28 2018
Circular photogalvanic effect in Cu/Bi bilayers

Hana Hirose;
Hana Hirose
1
Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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Naoto Ito;
Naoto Ito
1
Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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Masashi Kawaguchi;
Masashi Kawaguchi
1
Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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Yong-Chang Lau
;
Yong-Chang Lau
1
Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
2
National Institute for Materials Science
, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan
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Masamitsu Hayashi
Masamitsu Hayashi
a)
1
Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo
, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
2
National Institute for Materials Science
, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: hayashi@phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: hayashi@phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Appl. Phys. Lett. 113, 222404 (2018)
Article history
Received:
July 06 2018
Accepted:
November 03 2018
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Spin-momentum locked interface in nearly metallic system detected using circularly polarized light
Citation
Hana Hirose, Naoto Ito, Masashi Kawaguchi, Yong-Chang Lau, Masamitsu Hayashi; Circular photogalvanic effect in Cu/Bi bilayers. Appl. Phys. Lett. 26 November 2018; 113 (22): 222404. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5047418
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